Check out the March issue of Baltimore Magazine, which just hit newstands, for a brief interview with me, conducted by Amy Mulvihill. We talk mostly about this year’s Oscars. The unedited version, complete with my verbal tics (oops!) is available here.

For more than fifteen years, CSJQ has been treating Baltimore-Washington audiences to their scintillating blend of current and classic jazz. The emphasis for this evening, however, is on the classics, as CSJQ performs the music of 1940s and ‘50s film noir.

The words “film noir” conjure up images of smoky night clubs, rain-slicked streets, world-weary detectives and dangerous dames. On the soundtrack one hears a slinky jazz saxophone. But actually the films noir of the 1940s didn’t have jazz scores. What they did have was a large body of tunes drawn from the Great American Songbook—classics such as “I’ll Remember April” (Phantom Lady), “Stella by Starlight” (The Uninvited), “I Hear a Rhapsody” (Clash by Night), “Your Red Wagon” (They Live by Night), “Never Let Me Go” (The Scarlet Hour) and “One for My Baby” (Road House), as well as the title themes for Laura and Body and Soul, among others. In the 1950s and afterward, jazz soundtracks set the mood for films such as The Big Combo, and Sweet Smell of Success, for TV crime series such as Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, and Mike Hammer, and for neo-noir films like Taxi Driver and Chinatown.

Along with this evocative jazz, the show will feature introductions by CSJQ saxophonist and vocalist Mark Osteen—a film scholar and the author of Nightmare Alley: Film Noir and the American Dream.

“Night Songs” is a dazzling and unique multi-media event sure to delight both jazz aficionados and classic movie fans.

CSJQ has carved out a reputation for giving classic jazz a contemporary sheen. With this all-Monk show they do it again. Offering a range of tempos in tunes from the familiar to the obscure, the band pays homage to the legendary composer/pianist’s infectious joy and wit. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event!

Here’s the cover of my forthcoming book. The photo is from the movie Out of the Past, and the actress is Jane Greer, who plays the femme fatale Kathie Moffat. The shadows are those of two men, fighting, one of them soon to be shot.

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Welcome!

Here you'll find info about courses I've taught, books and articles I've written -- both scholarly and non-scholarly -- and music that I play and enjoy. You'll also find links to some of my other favorite Web sites. Come on in and browse. At any time, click on my name at the top to return to this page. If you have a question or comment, feel free to send me an e-mail.